Honing Skills

Any Way You Slice It, A Knife Class Is A Must For The Home Cook

August 18, 1999|By Renee Enna, Tribune Staff Writer.

Knives are often called the soldiers of the kitchen. For good reason.

Standing in the kitchen at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC) earlier this year, chef/instructor Mark Stanley informed his Beginning Knife Skills class that the most important technique a cook can master is how to use a knife.

Hearing this, students nodded in agreement, because who's going to argue with somebody holding a cleaver? But lurking in the back of some minds was the tendency to associate a 10-inch chef's knife with Norman Bates and not Jacques Pepin.

Knives are scary.

It's a double-edged sword, this need to know the knife. Any authority on the subject will tell you that the sharper the knife, the safer it is. (A sharp knife makes a clean cut that heals quickly, Stanley said. A dull knife makes a jagged cut that's difficult to heal.) On the other hand, the sharp, efficient knife that cuts through steak with lightning speed will also have no problem cutting through, say, your pinky.

Beginners, this is why you need to take a class.

Veterans who haven't taken a class, this applies to you too.

In fact, "if you're really inexperienced, you've probably got one up on someone who is more experienced," said Shelley Young, owner of The Chopping Block school in Lincoln Park, which offers two levels of knife skills classes. Veterans have bad habits, and bad habits are hard to break.

"Quite honestly, I think (knife skills are) probably the most misunderstood and overlooked area of the kitchen from the home cook's standpoint," Stanley said. "There's an unfortunate mystique that's sort of sprung up, thanks to television cooking shows. When you watch someone who is as facile with a knife as Jacques Pepin, it makes you a little self-doubting."

But it's not hard once you get the hang of it, and you really see what you've been missing. And that's what the beginning knife skills class is all about.

You'll marvel at your slender ribbons of basil, you'll beam with pride at the uniform size of your chopped tomato, you'll cry tears of joy at the consistency of your diced onions. Well, maybe that's not why you're crying, but you'll be proud of it, anyhow.

Maybe the best part is that you'll realize you get more done in less time, even working slowly.

"People say they don't have time to cook," Young said. "What they don't have time to do is shopping, chopping and cleaning up. You're not going to get out of shopping; you're not going to get out of cleanup. But if you can get better at chopping, you can actually start to have fun with cooking. It really cuts down on the (prep) time."

It starts with a knife

At many classes, students can bring their own knives. Many schools also sell high-quality 10-inch chef's knives before classtime, often at extremely competitive prices.

One is all you need for class. Specifically, that chef's knife. Stanley and Young prefer and recommend the 10-inch chef's knife, which is what most of the pros use for a large chunk of their chopping.

That said, some cooks may not like holding a knife that is longer than their forearms.

"Personally I prefer the 10-inch knife," Stanley said. "But a 10-inch is a bit intimidating for a lot of people. I've told any number of students, if they're more comfortable with the 8-inch knife, 2 inches isn't going to be a make-or-break proposition.

"You should find a knife that feels comfortable in your hand, that doesn't feel like you're brandishing a sword in `Robin Hood.' "

But please, reserve the 4-inch steak knife for steaks.

"We're trying to help people understand the larger the knife, the safer the knife," Young said. "People look at a larger knife and it looks very intimidating. But essentially, when you have a small knife, you can't chop a whole lot underneath it without lifting the knife completely off the board.

"The longer knife needs to be lifted very slightly to chop large quantities of food. You can chop quicker, you can chop a whole lot more."

In addition to increasing efficiency and decreasing fatigue, the less you lift the knife, the less chance you have of cutting your hand.

Taking the class

Knife classes are offered at many schools. Classes usually open with a lecture on knives that covers the various sizes and types; straight versus serrated blades; the importance of keeping them sharp; and the finer points of caring for them. The hands-on technique will most likely be limited to the chef's knife.

The most important lesson you'll learn is how to hold one properly. Don't put that index finger on top of the knife blade, Stanley instructed his class; hold the handle and use your index finger and thumb to pinch the back sides of the blade--then marvel at how much control you have. You'll also learn what to do with that other hand, the one holding the food--and the one most vulnerable to attack. (Keep the fingers curved slightly inward while holding down the piece of food.)